The US average weekly wage edged down to $1,043 in the first quarter, down 0.5% when compared with the same quarter the prior year, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This is one of only seven declines in the history of the series, which dates back to 1978.

Average weekly wages decreased over the year in eight of the 10 largest US counties. Orange, Calif., experienced the largest percentage loss in average weekly wages, down 6.4%.

New York County, home to Manhattan, posted the highest average weekly wage among all large US county areas in the first quarter at $2,783. Clayton County in Georgia had the largest percentage increase in average weekly wages at 15.5%.

The 10 US counties in terms of highest average weekly wage in the first quarter included:

• New York, NY, $2,783
• Santa Clara, Calif., $2,783
• San Mateo, Calif., $2,195
• San Francisco, Calif., $2,054
• Somerset, NJ: $2,022
• Fairfield, Conn.: $1,899
• Suffolk, Mass., $1,890
• Washington, DC, $1,766
• Arlington, Va., $1,734
• Morris, NJ, $1,696